The Templar Princess
by YoungItalianAndReckless
Summary: What if the Templars in Colonial America raised a little girl to become their weapon against any Assassin attempt to begin again in the colonies? What if that girl fell in love with an Assassin? I am that little girl; I am Katherine Almena Hickey and this is the story of my life before and after I met Connor Kenway.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Prologue

January 8, 1760

Five men stood in a small room on the upper floor of a Boston house. The room itself was quite bare, only holding a crib, a small Chippendale style chest-of-drawers and a rocking chair. One man held a small, moving bundle in his arms, a bundle which seemed to singularly hold the attention of all five men "Well, what are you going to name her, Thomas?" Haytham Kenway asked, smiling down at the black haired man called Thomas Hickey.

"Katherine Almena Hickey," Thomas murmured, smiling down at the raven-haired, blue-eyed baby that lay in his arms, a toothless smile turned up to him. "'er mum's name was Almena."

"Cute little girl...she will be a wonderful addition to our Order...when she is old enough," Haytham said, looking at the other three men standing in the room. "A girl could be just what we need, don't you all think?"

Murmurs of agreement answered his words as Thomas Hickey laid the baby in the crib. "She'll be jus' what we need one day...a girl always is."

March 5, 1770

The next ten years passed smoothly for the growing Templar Order and the growing girl-child, Katherine Hickey, affectionately called Kitty by the men in the order. When she was a few weeks old, Kitty's blue eyes turned a beautiful violet color that matched that of her late mother's and her black hair grew in perfect ringlets that framed her face when she wore it down.

When she was four, Kitty began being trained in a way similar to Haytham: learning how to become the shadows when it suited her, how to scale the buildings in Boston and, most importantly, how to kill without being seen. The last of these three things she merely observed until she was seven and was given the target of a man with Assassin sympathies. When she returned with the finger of the man, she was roundly rewarded by all five of the men.

Along with the physical training she received from her Master Kenway, she was also educated mentally by Master Johnson and Master Lee; Master Johnson taught her about other civilizations and their cultures and languages as well as the history of the Order while Master Lee taught her arithmetic, sciences and logic. Her two teachers often treated her to books with difficult words and ideas that they would quiz her own once she finished reading them. By the time she was nine, she could read, write and speak English, French, Italian, Latin and the Iroquois dialect belonging to the Mohawk tribe. The latter of the languages she learned when she went with Johnson to speak to the members of the tribe. She would often slink away from Master Johnson while he was speaking and play with the other children, absorbing and speaking their language.

All five top members of the Templar Order spoiled the girl from a young age; Master Kenway spoiled her with new dresses and shoes and hair ribbons while Masters Johnson and Lee spoiled her with story books and books she enjoyed reading, Master Church spoiled her with fancy jewelry that was honestly too grown up for the child, but she enjoyed looking at the sparkling chains and jewels and her own Papa, Thomas Hickey, spoiled her by buying her first a kitten when she was three, then a pony when she was six, a puppy when she was eight and a fine-looking, black mare when she was ten.

It was safe to say that Kitty was pampered and groomed to become the Princess of the Templars, but now, at ten, she was beginning to form her own opinions about the world and become more strong-willed and bull-headed. It was all the men could do to steer her in the direction they needed her to go. Several attempts to hold the ever tightening reins they had on Kitty were made the first on her seventh birthday when Master Kenway presented her with breeches, a shirt and a waistcoat that she could wear when they went out to train and again on her tenth birthday when he presented her with a pair of hidden blades made in the same style as his own. The hidden blades had an insignia on them that Kitty had been taught to treat with the utmost malice, but instead she only loved them that much more.

She often followed Master Kenway around Boston when he went out to run errands and would stand at his side wearing her "street clothes" as she had taken to calling the traditionally male clothes she was permitted to wear. Inevitably, she would always get bored and disappear in a crowd Master Kenway was walking through, but he never worried about her; she always returned safe and unharmed save a few bruises every once in a while.

Today was like any other day to Master Kenway. "Where's Kitty, Haytham? She went out with you and here you are without her," Master Johnson asked, looking up from his book with a wry smile when the dark-haired man walked in. The room into which the Londoner had walked into was just as Spartan as the nursery Kitty had lived in before containing only a dining table surrounded by tall chairs in front of a fireplace; in one corner sat a magnificent grandfather clock.

"Hmm? Oh, Kitty? She decided to explore the town a little more," Haytham replied, taking a seat at the table.

"Is that safe? I know you've trained her some, but should she really be permitted to wander around Boston unsupervised?"

"Well, we let Thomas go about town unsupervised, why shouldn't we let his daughter?"

William chuckled just as someone knocked on the door. Haytham frowned and walked to the door and opened the door to a guard with his hand on the shoulder of the black-haired, ten-year-old girl the pair of men had just been speaking with her twill cap in one hand at her side. "She says she lives here, but I told her no self-respecting man would let her run about in breeches like she was," the guard says stiffly, a bruise blooming under his right eye.

"No, I'm afraid she is my charge; she can be a handful, but we'll straighten her out, sir," Haytham says, smiling as he drew the girl into the house. The guard nodded, bowing slightly before retreating.

"Are you really going to punish me?" Kitty asked, looking up at Haytham with her violet colored eyes that seemed to peer into the depths of his very being and question all he believed.

"Did you give him the black eye?"

"Well...yes, Master Kenway."

"Then...no, no I won't. But you must be more careful, you know," Haytham said in a would-be-stern voice. Kitty nodded, looking down at the toes of her scuffed, leather boots. "Now, go change; we have to go to King Street."

"Yes, sir," Kitty said, bowing slightly before running up the stairs on the right.

"And be quick about it! We don't need to be late!" Haytham called after her.

Kitty went straight to her room and divested herself of her "street" clothes before pulling a linen shift over her head. Her nurse, a broad, homely woman whose grungy brown hair had began to turn gray at the temples, came in and helped her dress, putting on her jumps and tying her pocket about her waist before putting on two woolen petticoats and her white cap. "The Master wants you to wear this new dress, Miss," her nurse murmured, holding up a yellow, silk gown. Kitty's eyes lit up as she allowed her nurse to slip the fine garment over her head and lace it up. Next her nurse tied a wool neckerchief about her neck. "Go on now, child."

**Meanwhile**

Once Kitty had disappeared upstairs, Haytham turned back to William. "Just what are you planning, Haytham?" William asked, smiling up at the other man.

"There is much unrest and the only way to soothe it is to uncork the bottle."

A few moments later, thumping footsteps were heard on the stairs seconds before Kitty appeared wearing her yellow dress with a full skirt that just barely brushed the tops of her boots. "I'm ready, Master Kenway!"

Haytham smiled, handing Kitty a cape, then led her through Boston, a guiding hand on her narrow shoulder. Once they arrived at King Street, Kitty looked around at the angry, yelling people, then looked up at Haytham for guidance. He smiled encouragingly at the girl, then turned and began talking to two men.

With her guardian distracted, Kitty allowed her sharp eyes to examine the crowd, observing those that seemed to be instigating the unrest. Her eyes finally came to rest on a boy, obviously half-Indian and somewhat familiar to her, and an older black man who were watching Haytham. Kitty frowned as the boy disappeared in the crowd to follow one of the men Haytham had been talking to.

"Master Kenway...what is that boy doing?" she asked, looking up.

"He thinks he is going to stop my plan..." Haytham murmured, watching the boy until he was out of sight. "If he succeeds in catching the man I sent, I will need you to follow him."

"I cannot do that in a dress," she murmured, looking down at her dress.

"No...not effectively. There are some breeches, a shirt and a waistcoat in the church behind us...go and change quickly...I will collect your dress and other articles later."

Kitty nodded, running into the church and hiding in one of the stairwells to change. Though she had needed help dressing, undressing proved to be a simple task as the most difficult part being unlacing the dress, but if she reached behind her back just so, she found she could grab the end of one string and untie the bow. Once she loosed the dress and let it fall to the floor, the rest just seemed to fall off without much effort. Dressing back up in her "street" clothes was simple enough as she was used to dressing quickly. The finishing touch was effectively hiding her black hair under her cap.

She left the church and immediately climbed to its peak, just in time to hear a gunshot ring out in the square. She tracked the sound to Master Lee standing on a roof opposite the boy Master Kenway had instructed her to follow. Kitty dove off the belfry and began to run after the boy. She tailed him all day, pretending to be one of the street urchins when he noticed her. Soon, he was leading her out of Boston; Master Kenway had not said when she should stop following him so she continued, whistling for her horse as the boy entered the frontier and mounted his own horse.

Kitty followed at a safe distance, her misgivings about following the boy for so long slowly dissolving. The longer she rode behind him, it took about a day to get wherever the boy was leading, the more certain Kitty was that this boy was one from the Mohawk village she visited with Master Johnson. Soon they seemed to arrive on a homestead. The boy rode straight to the manor, jumped off his horse, went inside and began to berate the older black man that he had been with in Boston.

Kitty slid off her horse and slapped his hindquarters to convince him to run off and hide. She sneaked slowly up to the window to listen to the pair inside the manor. She made it to the window just in time to hear the boy say something about his father. Who could his father possibly be? she wondered her brows knitting together.

The old man presented the Indian boy a box, and, before Katherine got a good look at what was inside it, she heard someone running closer. She looked around for a place to hide and jumped into a pile of leaves at the last minute, hardly daring to breathe until she saw them all run back out of the house and toward the river. Kitty let out a sigh of relief as she rolled out of the leaves, her hat falling off her head and letting her hair to fall about her shoulders. She picked it up and dusted it off, but didn't bother putting it back on.

Right at that moment, Kitty's stomach gave a disgruntled growl reminding her that she hadn't eaten since she had broken fast the day before. She bit her lip and looked around warily before going into the house and going straight to the kitchen. There wasn't much food, but there was enough to sate Kitty's hunger at the moment; a few grapes and a loaf of bread was all she needed. Before she could get out of the house, she heard the boy and the old man coming back into the manor. Kitty knew she was cornered before the pair even came into the kitchen so she slid her hidden blades out and turned to them.

"We aren't going to hurt you, girl," the old man soothed, approaching her. "You have the mark of the Assassin's on your blades, don't you?"

Kitty looked down at her blades, the Assassin's insignia burned into the leather. "Yes, sir," she murmured, fighting the instinct to run.

"Then you have reached a safe place, my child."

"But-"

"Our Order must have sent her to help us grow in America, isn't that right?"

Kitty knew the opportunity was too good to pass up and she was nothing if not opportunistic. She nodded, holding herself straighter. She could use the accent she had assimilated from Haytham to her advantage to convince the Assassins that she had come from London.

"Yes, sir, it is true. When they heard you were still here and training someone, they sent me to help grow the Order," Kitty said in a clear voice, bowing her head to the older man.

The old man nodded. "I am Achilles and this is Connor."

Kitty looked up at Connor, her eyes narrowing slightly. "It is nice to meet you, Connor. I hope that, in time, we can become friends."

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**Well? What do y'all think so far? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**I studied Mohawk culture extensively while writing this chapter and the names of the two girls, Ojistah and Waneek, mean "star" and "keeper of the peace" respectively. I'm not sure if I'll get much of a chance to use my knowledge of the tribe in future chapters, but if it is requested, I may do a spin-off about a ceremony Ojistah and Waneek participate in.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Chapter One:

September 20, 1770

Kitty's first six months with Connor and Achilles seemed to pass without much consequence. She learned how to hunt from Connor and the true history of the Assassin's from Achilles. It was hard for Kitty to assimilate the new things she was learning from a real Assassin and what she had been told from birth by the men who had raised her. Some days she would leave the manor and hide in the woods, trying to figure where she stood in this world she was only now seeing the whole of.

Connor seemed to distrust her and distanced himself so, naturally, Kitty followed him everywhere. Growing up with basically five doting fathers, she was unused to a man not giving her all their attention and so Connor intrigued her. Sometimes he would leave the homestead and Kitty always stayed behind, not confident enough to trek into the wilderness, but now, after six months of observing, she followed Connor, unbeknownst to him.

At first she didn't recognize anything in this wooded frontier, but when they crossed into the Kanien'keháka hunting territory, Kitty knew exactly where she was; she had come here often enough with Master Johnson. It took all her self-control not to run into the village to look for the little girls she used to play with. She fidgeted while she waited for Connor to go into one of the longhouses, then, once he was safely where he couldn't see her, she ran to the longhouse she used to play in with her friends.

"Ojistah? Waneek?" Kitty called, walking into the longhouse, casting her eyes about warily.

"Kahente?" a voice behind Kitty whispered. Kitty turned and smiled at the eleven-year-old Indian girl.

"Ojistah! I have missed you," Kitty said in Mohawk, walking toward the girl.

"Mister Johnson comes here every week looking for you; where have you been?" Ojistah asked, embracing Kitty.

"I cannot tell you, but I am safe," Kitty murmured, glancing over her shoulder. "You cannot tell Mister Johnson that I was here, though, Ojistah."

Ojistah nodded, taking Kitty's hand and leading her out of the longhouse and to the edge of the village where Waneek was waiting. "We were about to go play in the woods, do you want to come with us, Kahente?" Waneek asked. Waneek was nine and a miniature copy of her older sister, but her eyes were softer and she had a gentler spirit.

Kitty nodded, grinning. She followed the sisters into the woods surrounding the village and played hide-and-seek with them. None of them paid attention to the passing time until the sun was almost completely out of the sky.

"Oh, no...I don't know how to get back..." Kitty murmured, biting her lip.

"Ratonhnhakéton knows how to get everywhere! He can take you home," Waneek suggested as the trio made their way back to the village.

"Yeah, and he won't leave until long after the sun is out of the sky anyway," Ojistah chimed in, smiling at Kitty. "He'll take you."

Kitty relaxed slightly; she may not know this Ratonhnhakéton, but she trusted this tribe to keep her safe. "Okay...can you take me to him?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ojistah nodded, leading the way through the village to the longhouse that belonged to the Clan Mother. "He's usually in here talking to Clan Mother."

Kitty nodded, walking in slowly, looking around. "Ratonhnhakéton?" she called softly. She saw a shadow moving in front of her, a man, that stood and walked over to her.

"Kitty?" a familiar voice asked. Kitty stumbled backwards into the dying sunlight, staring up into Connor's face.

"C-Connor?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"What are you doing here? Did you follow me?" Connor asked, venom in his voice.

Kitty straightened her back, wrinkling her nose. "So what if I did? Is this place supposed to be a secret?" she hissed back, not realizing she was still speaking in Mohawk.

Connor's rage slaked as he stared at her. "You speak Mohawk?" he blustered, obviously trying to hide his surprise.

Kitty blinked. "Well...yes, I..." she stopped, realizing there was no good explanation as to why she spoke the language with no difficulty. She ground her teeth, her mind working.

Connor's narrowed eyes suddenly went wide. "You're that little girl the white man called Johnson would always bring."

Kitty shook her head, her eyes pleading. "Please...don't make me go back to them," she whimpered, surprised that she truly didn't want to go back. "I left for a reason, Connor...please."

Connor blinked, obviously taken aback that she didn't want to go running back to the Templars. "I have to tell Achilles," he said slowly.

Kitty hadn't cried since she was four and was damn proud of that fact, but she knew tears would make Connor uncomfortable. She sniffled, tears distorting her vision. "No! Please! He'll kick me out and I won't have anywhere to go," she whimpered.

Connor shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the ground. "Okay...I won't tell Achilles," he relented grudgingly. "Now, let's get back to the manor."

Kitty nodded, looking down at her toes. Connor grabbed her hand and led her out of the village. It was shock that made her follow Connor if not only the large hand that enveloped hers and pulled her along; she was unused to physical contact beyond Master Kenway's hand on her shoulder when they were in large crowds and holding hands was unheard of for Kitty. As the shock wore off, Kitty found she liked the feeling of having Connor's hand hold hers. Just the thought caused her face to heat.

"Are you okay, Kitty? You have been quiet," Connor murmured as they crossed into the homestead.

"Y-yes, I am okay," Kitty stuttered, looking up at Connor. "I did not realize my silence would worry you."

Connor smiled wryly, looking up at the night sky. "I am just used to you always talking, I guess," he said, a teasing note in his voice.

Kitty shook her head, scoffing quietly. Connor's hand squeezed hers briefly, then released it. She felt the loss immediately, clenching her fist around the space Connor's hand had left. What was this strange feeling she wondered silently, walking beside Connor in companionable silence. When they arrived at the manor, Kitty went straight to her room without a word to either Connor or Achilles, wanting to sort out her feelings in the safety and privacy of her room.

She had been raised to despise the men she was currently living with, indeed, she had been raised to want to kill them, but now her world had been turned upside-down. Even the thought of having to kill Connor caused a sinking feeling in her chest that she couldn't account for; surely she hadn't developed feelings for the Assassin. Kitty groaned, burying her face in her pillow. "Tomorrow..." she muttered. "I'll figure it out tomorrow," she muttered to herself.

Kitty woke up later than usual and stared up at the ceiling, her mind sluggishly remembering the previous day's events. She shook her head to clear it and rolled out of bed, dressing and going downstairs. "Hey, Achilles," she greeted the old man as she walked into the kitchen.

"Once you eat, can you go find Connor? He bolted out of here this morning without a word," Achilles said, looking up and smiling at Kitty. She nodded, eating quickly before going outside.

She walked to the cliffs overlooking the little bay and already her search was over; the Aquila, a ship that Connor had been helping make repairs to, was missing from the harbor. Kitty sighed and turned to walk back to the manor. It was so like Connor to just up and disappear on a boat without a word to anyone. She walked into the manor and told Achilles that the boat was gone and she was certain Connor had been on it when it left, then went back outside.

She ran into the trees, feeling like she was flying as she jumped from branch to branch as she made her way to a secluded part of the woods. She sat in the fork of one of the trees and leaned her head back, her mind beginning to work its way through the complications it had created within itself the day before. She couldn't deny that she had grown used to the idea of Connor always being around and, maybe, she could consider him a friend, but what did she really know about friends? She had been raised by five men that had kept her outside associations to a minimum.

Kitty jumped out of the tree, her thoughts becoming jumbled and frustrated. She paced under the tree she had been in for a few moments before a rabbit hopped into the clearing with her. Kitty blinked at the placid creature, unhindered by human emotions and problems, its only concern was whether it could make it back to its warren by nightfall. It was an odd thought that Kitty wished she could be that rabbit or any animal to tell the truth. She mentally shook herself and left the clearing, pushing the absent Connor from her mind.

With Connor away at sea and Kitty in a peculiar mood without him, Achilles gave her free range to wander the homestead. After two weeks even the spacious forest of the homestead felt stifling to Kitty and she began to take short sojourns out onto the frontier. Everyday she would wander further until, about a month and a half after Connor and the ship had disappeared, Kitty finally found herself at the entrance to the village. It was like returning to an old hiding place that had grown more foliage, but the foliage was merely the people that had been born and the ones that had grown up. Kitty walked into the village unaware of what, or who, she would find within nor what might happen due to her sudden appearance.

"Katherine Almena!" a voice called from the village center. Kitty froze, her eyes on the five men that stood huddled around the fire and her heart sinking faster than a stone in water.

"M-Master Johnson...Master Kenway, Master Church, Master Lee...Papa," Kitty whispered breathlessly, the urge to cry and run away from her old life fighting her inclination to stand her ground when faced with an obstacle.

The men strode over to Kitty quickly. "Where have you been, Kitty?" Master Kenway asked, his hand on her shoulder.

"I've been out here in the frontier, Master Kenway," Kitty said, the lie rolling over her tongue. "When I followed that boy, he led me out here and I lost him in the trees! Then-oh, it was awful!-then Lady got spooked and threw me off! I didn't know where I was and I've been wandering around ever since."

"It's been nigh on eight months, child! How have you survived?" Master Johnson asked, his eyes wide.

"At first I begged from some of the farmers, then I figured out how to hunt," Kitty said, a note of true pride ringing in her voice at her accomplishment.

"You poor thing...all on your own...come, let's get you back to Boston," Master Lee soothed, clapping a hand on Kitty's shoulder. Kitty smiled in what she hoped looked like relief.

They rushed to get her back to their townhome in Boston and ordered a maid to scrub all hints of the forest from her skin. Kitty smiled and spoke as though she were only so happy her teachers and father had been able to find her. She was not left alone for more than a few minutes, except to sleep, for the first two weeks after she returned home and after being able to simply run into the trees when she felt too stifled, it felt like torture. Even after that initial fortnight, she still felt that they got a little too close and she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet.

Kitty didn't entirely blame them for worrying about her. Every night she would wake herself up screaming at some invisible terror. Usually Master Kenway would already be in her bedroom in his dressing gown, his eyes full of concern. She knew they attributed her night terrors to the trauma she encountered on her own for eight months, but they couldn't be further from wrong.

The dream always started out with the rabbit she had seen in the forest the day Connor left on the Aquila hopping out of the underbrush. She always felt calm when she first saw the rabbit, but then she would realize it had changed; it wasn't brown and sleek, it was black with curly fur and purple eyes. She would stare as the rabbit changed into a black wolf and paced in front of her, snapping at her, but never getting closer to her. She could hear more wolves nearby and somehow she knew they were bigger wolves and that there were four of them; the wolves that belonged to the same pack as the black one in front of her. Just as she was getting the courage to run, another wolf bounded into the clearing and started circling the black wolf; this newcomer would have sleek black fur with a white mark on its shoulder that Kitty never got a good look at. The two wolves in front of her would start playing, pinning each other and snapping harmlessly, but then, the other wolves would jump out of the bushes.

There were always four large wolves that would attack the black wolf that had appeared last. The black wolf would fight them off one-by-one until they were all dead, but then another wolf would walk out of the bushes, bigger than any of the others. The black wolf would turn on its new foe and Kitty would watch in horror as this wolf turned into Master Kenway holding a pistol pointed at, not the black wolf, but Connor. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Kitty would start screaming and wake up in he twisted blankets, cold sweat dripping down between her shoulder blades.

It was December before Kitty could convince her guardians that she was feeling well enough to not be watched day and night. The first day she had the house all to herself, Kitty sat down at a desk with a pen and paper and began composing a letter to Connor. She knew what he would think when he returned and she had disappeared; she couldn't abide even the thought of Connor thinking ill of her.

_Connor,_

_Please read this whole letter before forming any new opinions of me. _

_When you left on your ship, I began exploring the frontier and when I had found your village again, the Templars were there looking for me. They saw me before I could run and I have told them an elaborate story about being lost. Please do not think that I betrayed you or that I left the manor looking to come back to Boston. I will never tell them where you and Achilles are and I will never forget the kindness and mercy you showed to me that last day I spoke with you. _

_If you ever want to speak with me, I will be at the Green Dragon Tavern everyday from noon until sundown. I hope that we can still be friends even though I am being kept here against my will. Since I met you and Achilles, I have not felt the same allegiance toward the "Father of Enlightenment" that I did growing up. My world view has changed. No, it hasn't changed, it has been broadened and I can now see both horizons and what they will bring. I am not even eleven yet, but I know where I stand and it is with the Brotherhood._

_Yours,_

_Kitty_

Kitty carried the letter hidden in her cape and paid the courier to make sure the letter was only seen by Connor. This letter was the only hope she had to make everything okay between them and, even then, she wasn't sure how it would work out. As she watched the courier run out of sight, she found herself praying that Connor would not just dismiss her.

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**Well? What do y'all think so far? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**Before you read this chapter, know that the ending may be controversial to you, but I want to remind you that in the eighteenth century things were different. I will explain more at the end, but please try to remember this is a different time. And don't stop reading now, it probably isn't what you think.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Chapter Two:

December 16, 1773

Kitty did not leave the "protection" of the Templars in the three years that followed. She studied the Assassins on her own, her beliefs and opinions aligning more with this group she had been taught to treat with hatred her entire childhood. During her daily visits to the Green Dragon Tavern, Kitty would hear the rumblings of the citizens concerning how the crown treated them. It took a few weeks, but soon she was accepted into the circle after confessing her sympathies and her ability to work for them on the inside. It wasn't hard for the Patriot leaders to trust her completely when she spoke out against her teachers so passionately.

Being nearly fourteen meant that Kitty could easily slip away from her father and the other men easily by simply claiming she wished to have privacy. Her body had grown into that of a woman's and the men she lived with treated her delicately and allowed her free range in order to keep her happy. If they had only been able to guess why she disappeared almost every night, she knew they would have put a stop to her involvement.

Tonight, Samuel Adams and a few other patriots were going to dump Johnson's tea into the harbor. Kitty had told them the name of the ship, where it was and when the guards would be most lax. She knew it would ruin Master Johnson's business at least for a short time and that would negatively affect her, but if it meant giving the people the freedom they wanted, she would suffer.

She sat at the table in the main room of the Templars' Boston townhome, sketching a new picture of Connor. She found it odd how often he captivated her thoughts and her dreams. While the dream of the wolves had stopped coming every night, Connor figured prominently in the rest as well. She sighed as she carefully finished shading around his eyes and the door slammed open.

"Those blasted rebels," Master Johnson growled, dropping down into the chair across from Kitty. Kitty looked up from her sketch, pulling a blank piece of paper over it to hide it.

"What happened, Master Johnson?" she asked innocently, though she already knew.

"They threw my tea in the harbor and that half-breed was there and-"

"Half-breed? What half-breed?" Kitty blurted, wishing she could take the words back as soon as they were out.

"The Indian boy you tried to follow three years ago," Johnson said slowly, turning to look at her fully, his eyes narrowed.

"Oh...yes...I'm going to bed, Master Johnson, if you'll excuse me," Kitty murmured, gathering up her parchment and hurrying upstairs.

He had been here, in this city. Did he know what she had done? That she was working with the Patriots? Kitty shook her head, hiding her drawing of Connor before going out her bedroom window. Boston was so peaceful at night and the silence often helped her think through her next moves. She ran from rooftop to rooftop until she reached the church near the Green Dragon Tavern. She started to climb to the steeple when she realized someone was already at the top. She squeaked and jumped down to the roof.

She startled the man and he jumped down to her. She raised her fists, sliding out her blades and she heard him do the same. "I do not want to hurt you if I don't have to," the man said. "You look like nice young man and it'd be a shame to end your future now."

"I'm not a man," Kitty hissed back, her ire raising at the assumption.

The man raised himself from his crouched position. "Kitty?" he asked, pushing back his hood. Kitty stared up at the man, his features so closely resembling Master Kenway that, for a moment, she thought that was who she was facing. But, no, this man's skin was too dark and he had a braid in his hair.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, her defense still up.

"It's me, Connor," the man said, holding his hands up in surrender.

She lowered her hands, her blades sliding back, her expression skeptical. "Connor?" she asked disbelievingly. She felt a flash of anger and pushed him against the steeple, a blade to the throat. "Why are you here?"

Connor held his chin up to avoid the sharp blade when he spoke. "I...was at the harbor," he said slowly, obviously not sure how she would react if he told her he had emptied Johnson's ships of tea.

"Don't lie to me, Ratonhnhakéton, I know why you're here; you destroyed Master Johnson's cargo, didn't you?" she hissed, hoping the darkness hid the laughter dancing in her eyes.

"H-How do you know that?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"Because I set it up, you beef-head," Kitty said, releasing him and stepping back.

Connor rubbed his neck. "Why did you do that?" he asked angrily.

"Because I can get more out of you when you're scared of me," she replied with a shrug.

"You are a confusing woman."

Kitty turned to him, frowning. "Am I? I thought I was being quite straight forward," she spat.

Connor held his hands up. "No, that...that's not what I meant."

Kitty raised a brow and shook her head.

"I came here hoping I would see you," Connor murmured, pulling a piece of parchment out of his pocket. "You said if I wanted to speak with you to go to the Green Dragon Tavern."

"I sent that three years ago, as far as you know, I stopped coming here everyday," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It was a guess."

"It was a leap."

Connor sighed, running a hand over his face. "Is what you wrote in this letter still true?"

"If you have to ask if I still side with the Assassins, then you don't need me to tell you the answer," she replied, narrowing her eyes.

"Why didn't you ever come back to the manor if you were still with us?" Connor asked, taking a step toward her.

"I admitted in writing that I was the daughter of a Templar, I couldn't be sure how I would be received if I went back."

"Achilles doesn't know."

Kitty looked up at Connor, a line between her brows. "Why not?"  
"I told him you were with my tribe, learning how to survive in the frontier," he said with a shrug.

"You lied to him?"

"I knew how he would react and I believed you. Would you come back if I asked you?"

Kitty froze, staring at him. "Go back to the homestead? Run away again?" Connor nodded, shifting uncertainly. "Of course."

Connor chuckled, shaking his head. "Do you need to get anything from-"

"Yes. Stay here. I'll be back in less than an hour," Kitty said, backing away from Connor. He nodded once and she turned and ran off across the rooftops back to the townhome.

She went in through the window and listened at the door; she could hear Master Johnson and Master Kenway talking in the main room. She grabbed a bag and stuffed clothes and books into it, hiding her drawings between the pages in the book. She had just put her foot on the window sill when she heard feet on the stairs. She tsked angrily and jumped from the window onto the roof next door. She ran back to the church, nearly bowling Connor over.

"Sorry...they were coming up to my room," she murmured, shaking her head. "Let's go."

Connor nodded, taking her hand in his. Kitty blushed lightly as they went to the harbor and boarded the Aquila. He led her down into his cabin.

"You can put your bag in here. If you want, you can sleep in here, too, I guess," Connor said, moving a few things around.

"Connor...I can't stay in your cabin," Kitty murmured, frowning.

Connor turned, frowning in confusion. "Why not?"

Kitty stared at him. "You're a man and I'm a woman...I do not wish to have those rumors flying around your ship," she said slowly.

"What ru-...oh...they won't do that, Kitty."

Kitty sighed. "Alright, but I won't be in here at the same time as you."

Connor rolled his eyes, leaving the cabin. Kitty watched him go, then sat on the edge of the bed. Was she really doing this? Running away from the Templars with an Assassin? She laid back and stared at the ceiling, her mind racing; she was afraid to close her eyes and it all be an elaborate dream, but her exhaustion had her eyelids growing heavy and she was soon asleep.

The dream with the wolves came back, but Connor had grown up and Kitty threw herself in front of him and felt the bullet rip through her stomach. She was in pain, but couldn't wake up even though she was screaming. She looked up at Connor who held her in her dream, his eyes filled with tears.

"Kitty...Kitty!" he yelled, shaking her. "Kitty! Kitty, wake up!"

Kitty gasped and opened her eyes, staring up at Connor, tears still blurring her vision. "C-Connor..." she whispered brokenly.

Connor held her, rubbing her back. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Kitty buried her face in his neck, tears still leaking out of her eyes. "It was just a dream...just a dream..." she whimpered. Connor squeezed her gently. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. One of the men heard a woman's scream coming from my cabin and I was afraid someone had gotten in here. What was your dream about?"

"Wolves," she murmured, not wanting to go more into detail.

Connor raised a brow, but didn't press. "Come on, let's go to the deck; the sea air might do you some good," he said, standing and holding a hand out to her. Kitty smiled, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the helm of the ship and took his place. Kitty watched him, a small smile on her face.

The trip took a two days, but soon they were pulling into the harbor below the manor. Kitty was standing at the bow, watching the crew get ready to dock. She turned and looked out at the homestead, sighing softly.

"I take it you missed being here," Connor said behind her. Kitty turned and smiled at him.

"You could say that," she murmured, her hands behind her back.

Connor smiled, holding out his arm to her. Kitty blushed lightly as she took his arm and allowed him to lead her off the ship and up to the manor. "Achilles?" he called as they walked in.

"Connor...and Kitty, you're back," Achilles said, nodding to the girl. "Prudence and Warren are looking for you, Connor."

Connor nodded, releasing Kitty's arm and walking out of the house. Kitty watched him walk away and turned to Achilles. "I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

"Being in Boston can make you lose track of time."

"Boston? I-"

"Don't lie to me, Kitty; I know, I have since the day you followed Connor here. I assume he knows as well?" Kitty nodded, looking down. "Don't look so downtrodden, girl, I let you stay because I had a feeling you might form a different opinion once you heard the other side."

Kitty blinked, then smiled. "You are a crafty old man, Achilles," she murmured, shaking her head.

Achilles chuckled, turning to walk away. "Go make yourself at home before I change my mind."

Kitty nodded and walked up the stairs to her old room. She sat at the desk and pulled a fresh piece of parchment toward her and began to sketch a new picture. Hours must have passed because when she looked up, the sun had gone down and she was sore from sitting bent over the paper. She looked down at the sketch of Connor that had bloomed on her paper, but, this time, it wasn't just Connor; Kitty had drawn herself holding Connor's hands and looking down. Just looking at the picture made her blush.

There was a knock at the door and Kitty scrambled to cover the drawing and turned to see the subject of her drawing standing in the doorway. "Kitty?" he asked, tilting his head. "Are you okay?"

Kitty knew her cheeks were bright red as she nodded. "Y-yeah...just-uh-just drawing." Connor frowned and crossed the room to her, picking up the hastily covered parchment. "No! Connor, I-"

"This is actually a really good drawing..." Connor said, cutting across her words as he looked down at her. "You drew this?"

Kitty nodded, feeling light-headed. "Yeah...I don't even know why I drew that...erm..." Connor set the parchment down and looked down at Kitty, a soft smile on his face. He took both her hands in his, still smiling down at her. She felt her face heat and looked down to hide her blush.

Connor chuckled, lifting her chin with one finger. "You don't have to be embarrassed for your drawing..." he murmured, leaning closer.

Kitty's lips parted as though she were about to speak, but Connor's lips silenced her. Kitty, still unused to so much human contact, fought the urge to pull away in surprise and forced herself to relax, her arms looping around his neck. Connor broke the kiss and searched Kitty's eyes and she pulled his head back to her, their lips finding each other naturally.

"Connor? Kitty?" a voice called from downstairs causing the couple to spring apart, both blushing madly. "What are you two doing up there?"

"N-Nothing, Achilles! We were talking about...erm..." Connor looked to Kitty for help.

"I don't care, just come down here and eat."

Kitty blushed, walking past Connor and going down to the dining room and taking a seat. She touched her lips, her mind reliving the moment she and Connor had shared. She looked across the table at Connor who was focused on eating, his head bent and smiled to herself as she picked at her food.

When they finished eating, Kitty cleaned and put away the dishes, prolonging her time downstairs so she could think without interruption. At thirteen, Kitty was the age most girls were when they married, but she had never had to worry about it, in fact, she had always thought she wouldn't have to or want to, but now, after she and Connor had kissed, she wondered how much of her worldview had changed since coming to the homestead. The marriages she had seen as a child had been shallow and loveless, so she had nothing on which to base any concept of what love was. By the time she had finished the dishes, Kitty's thoughts were twisted and confused and she was no closer to understanding what she felt than when she had come downstairs.

She trudged back up to her room and changed into her nightgown and let down her hair. She braided it tightly down her back before standing and walking to her bed. She heard a noise at her door and turned to see Connor standing in the doorway, his eyes on the floor and a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Sorry...I...erm...I didn't mean to surprise you," he said, glancing up.

"If you wanted to talk to me, you shouldn't have waited until after I changed," Kitty teased, hiding her embarrassment. Connor looked up at Kitty. "What do you need, Connor?"

Connor swallowed, looking down before walking into the room and toward Kitty. He stopped when he stood directly in front of her. He opened and shut his mouth several times, looking intensely into her eyes. Finally, he just leaned down and kissed her deeply. Kitty wrapped her arms around his neck, knowing what he couldn't say, feeling it in her bones.

"I love you, Connor," Kitty whispered when he broke the kiss. Connor stared down into her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I love you, too," he murmured back, his hand cupping her cheek. Kitty smiled up at him, taking his hand and leading him to her bed.

"Promise me you won't ever leave me again..." Kitty whispered, sitting on her bed.

Connor sat next to her, smiling lightly. "Never..."

They spent that night together, giving their hearts to each other. For the first time in three years, Kitty didn't need to dream about Connor to keep his memory fresh.

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**Bet y'all thought it was going to be something racist, huh? Before you leave a review saying "Kitty's only thirteen, she wouldn't have-" girls got married at thirteen and fourteen during this time period. Some girls married older and a few even married younger (that's still creepy to me, but whatevs) so I know she's too young to do some things according to _our_ culture in the twenty-first century, but not for back then.**

**Well? What do y'all think so far? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**So, this chapter took longer because I wrote the next chapter thinking I would just skip this one. I hope you like it, tons of angst.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Chapter Three:

April 18, 1775

"You're leaving the week before our wedding, Connor?" Kitty exclaimed, her hands on her hips.

"I'll be back in time for the wedding, Kitty, don't worry," Connor soothed, kissing her temple gently. Kitty frowned up at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now, I don't want to remember you looking mad at me."

Kitty rolled her eyes, a smile breaking across her face. Connor smirked and leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips. "You better be home soon," she murmured stubbornly.

Connor left the manor, leaving Kitty to finish preparing for their wedding. She hadn't left the homestead in the time since Connor had brought her back and during that time they had fallen deeply and irreversibly in love. She had been there when his people's land had been in jeopardy at the hands of the men that had raised her, had watched as he improved upon the homestead. The day Connor came home with Johnson's blood still fresh on his blades stood out in Kitty's memory.

*A little over a year ago*

_"I cannot live the rest of my life wondering if one day you will wake up and decide to go back to them because they have become the lost cause, Kitty," Connor whispered, his fists clenched at his side. "I cannot live wondering if one day I will come back and they have taken you back."_

_"I would never leave you, Ratonhnhakéton," Kitty soothed, reaching out to touch his arm. Connor took a step back, avoiding Kitty's comforting hand._

_"I have to do this, Kitty."_

_Kitty's breath caught in her throat and tears crowded her vision; he was going to make her leave, run her off. "Connor, you don't, please," she whimpered, her knees getting weak._

_"I do, Kitty," Connor took a deep breath and held out his hand, the palm facing up; a simple gold band sat in his hand with words carved on the inside: I will never leave you. -Ratonhnhakéton. Kitty stared at the ring through the tears that now flowed freely. "Will you marry me?"_

_"Yes...oh, gods, yes," Kitty whispered, smiling through her tears._

*Present*

Now, a year later, they were a week from getting married and Connor was off to kill another of the men that had raised her. Truthfully, Pitcairn had done next to nothing to help raise Kitty beyond teaching her to shoot straight with any pistols that placed in her hands so his death would be inconsequential to her. It wasn't the death of a man she knew from stories and short encounters that had her flying around the homestead tying up loose ends of her wedding in a mood to rival any other, it was her groom disappearing to kill the man that irked her.

"Please try to stand still, Miss Kitty," Prudence sighed, trying to get the final hem just right on Kitty's wedding dress.

"The week before the wedding, Prudence! He left the week before the wedding!" Kitty exclaimed, resisting the urge to stomp her foot in her frustration.

"The man is very well respected among the patriots; you should be proud that they call on him," Prudence soothed, sitting back on her heels when she finished the hem.

"I will be very proud when he stops disappearing when I need him," Kitty shot back, her anger getting the best of her. Prudence stood and placed a gentle hand on Kitty's encouraging the younger woman to look at her.

"You are proud of him now, you just wish the circumstances weren't what they are," she murmured, helping Kitty down off the chair she had been standing on.

Kitty sighed and nodded, unbuttoning the dress slowly. "I am...I just wish he wasn't always running off," she murmured, handing the dress to Prudence and putting her day dress back on.

"Well, you can rest well knowing he will fall in love with you all over again when he sees you walking down the aisle."

Kitty blushed and nodded, looking at the dress that Prudence was carefully folding and putting it in Kitty's hope chest. "Thank you for all your help, Prudence."

"It was nothing, dear," Prudence smiled at her and Kitty returned the smile. The two women embraced and Kitty walked back up to the manor carrying her hope chest.

"Achilles? I'm back," Kitty called, carrying the chest up to her room. "Achilles?" She walked back downstairs and into the parlor.

Achilles was slumped in his chair, snoring softly. Kitty smiled softly, getting a blanket and tucking it around Achilles' shoulders. She walked into the kitchen and started making dinner for the two of them, humming softly to herself. It wasn't long before she had found her voice and began singing in a clear, soft voice.

"_Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot, 'Prête-moi ta plume pour écrire un mot. Ma chandelle est morte, je n'ai plus de feu. Ouvre-moi ta porte pour l'amour de Dieu.' Au clair de la lune, Pierrot répondit, 'Je n'ai pas de plume, je suis dans mon lit. Va chez la voisine, je crois qu'elle y est, car dans sa cuisine on bat le briquet.' Au clair de la lune, l'aimable Lubin; frappe chez la brune, elle répond soudain, 'Qui frappe de la sorte?' Il dit à son tour, 'Ouvrez votre porte, pour le Dieu d'Amour.' Au clair de la lune, on n'y voit qu'un peu. On chercha la plume, on chercha du feu. En cherchant d'la sorte, je n'sais c'qu'on trouva; mais je sais qu'la porte sur eux se ferma_." she sang, smiling to herself.

"You have a beautiful voice, Kitty," Achilles murmured from the doorway.

Kitty spun around, blushing darkly. "Oh! Achilles! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"A beautiful song is a good way to be woken up. Now, what have you made for dinner?"

Achilles and Kitty quietly ate their dinner, neither speaking because there was only one thing on their mind that night: Connor. Though they would never admit it, they were both constantly worried when he disappeared the way he did and both were at the end of their ropes. For Achilles, it was the constant worry that the last chance for the Brotherhood to make it in the colonies if Connor didn't come back and for Kitty, it was losing the only man she had ever truly loved, the only person she was completely loyal to. The longer he was away, the more worried they both became and the less they spoke.

Once they finished eating, Kitty cleared the table and washed the dishes, then the whole kitchen, unable to be still for too long without worrying about Connor. Even though the daylight was long gone, Kitty left the manor and walked into the woods, looking for the familiar solace she used to find among the towering trees. She wasn't afraid here, in the place she once spent countless hours in, usually with Connor somewhere nearby. She found the clearing that often plagued her dreams and sat where she always saw the wolf stand.

It had taken years for her to realize that she was the black wolf with curly fur, probably because she didn't want to believe it that she could be simply luring Connor into a trap. That was what the wolf was doing, luring in its friend to be attacked by the others, but Kitty wasn't doing that, was she? Kitty pulled her knees up and stared across the clearing, half expecting to see the other wolf come bounding over. She didn't even realize how tired she was until she was already dreaming.

Damn, there's the rabbit again. The dream progressed how it usually did until Kitty was watching Haytham point the gun at Connor. At this point he looked up at her and held out the gun.

_"Come, girl, killing is a part of who you are," Haytham purred, pulling another gun out of the holster on his belt._

_Kitty took the gun and looked down at Connor. "Kitty? Kitty, I thought you loved me...why are you doing this?"_

_A high, cold voice, so unlike Kitty's responded: "Love? You? An inconsequential little half-breed who can't even think on his own? Why on earth would I ever love you?"_

_Kitty pulled the trigger and watched Connor slump to the ground, blood pooling on the leaves. "No! NO!" another voice started screaming. "No, I didn't want to kill him! Why did you make me kill him? I loved him!"_

Kitty started awake, panting. "No, no, no...I would never...that wasn't me..." she muttered, rocking back and forth. "I love Connor...I love him. I LOVE CONNOR!" She collapsed onto the ground, sobs wracking her body as tears flooded her cheeks.

In the two years since Kitty came back to the homestead with Connor, she had never reacted this violently to his absence. Later, she would realize it was the stress of the wedding coupled with her own guilt at one day possibly being the reason he didn't come back. She didn't return to the manor that day, just lay in the clearing wishing the earth would swallow her up so she didn't have to face Connor knowing that she dreamt of killing him.

How could her subconscious make such a bold leap unless it was at least something that had crossed her mind? Sure, when she first came to the homestead when she was ten she had wanted nothing more than to wipe out both Achilles and Connor, but now...now she had fallen in love with both men, one a father-figure and the other the man she loved with all her heart. She didn't want anything to happen to either of them now.

When the sun was going down again when Kitty finally stood up, brushing dirt and leaves off her dress. She carefully picked leaves out of her hair which had gone from ringlets to gentle waves when she moved back out to the homestead. She did everything she could to prolong going back to the manor. Finally, she started back, but it began to rain and she could hear thunder in the distance. She looked around and ducked into a cave nearby.

The thunder and rain kept her up most of the night, so Kitty's short snatches of sleep were free from dreams of wolves and pistols. By the time the rain actually stopped, it was morning again. Slowly, Kitty emerged from the cave and looked around only to realize she was in an unfamiliar area of the woods and that she had no idea how to get back to the manor. At this rate, she was more likely to miss her wedding than Connor. She looked up the sun and oriented herself so she would walk south until she hit either the bay or the river. She had been so stupid not to go back the day before and now she wasn't even sure she could find her way back.

It was past midday before Kitty made it to the river. She knelt at the edge of the water and scooped some up in her hand, sipping it gratefully before using it to cool off her neck and face. Once her thirst was slaked and she felt reasonably cooled off, she stood and looked up and down the river before turning to walk in the same direction the water flowed so that she would reach the bridge that crossed the river before it emptied into the bay. Now that she was more confident about her whereabouts, Kitty moved faster and was soon at the bridge only to find that the whole village that had sprung up on the homestead was in a riot.

"Miss Kitty!" a voice called, but Kitty knew it wasn't because they saw her: they were looking for her. She stepped back into the treeline, crouching among the bushes.

"Kitty!" a strong voice called from behind her. Kitty turned and saw Connor striding toward the barn near the manor, worry lining his still young face.

Kitty fought the urge to run to him, the memory of her dream still fresh in her mind. She knew she didn't really want to hurt Connor, but if it was in her dreams, there was some part of her, no matter how small, that still sided with the Templars and wanted him dead. How could she marry him knowing that? How could she put him in danger like that?

"Connor...it's no use, she's been gone for three days; if she isn't back now, she isn't coming back," Achilles murmured, placing a hand on Connor's shoulder.

"No, Achilles...she wouldn't run away without a note...she would have explained herself," Connor replied harshly, sadness etching his features.

Kitty couldn't do this, torture Connor this way. She crept out of the bushes and walked to the road, holding herself up straight. "Connor?" she called, wincing at how weak, raw and close to tears her voice sounded. Connor turned, narrowing his eyes slightly before running toward her.

"Kitty!" he whispered, holding her close to him. Kitty leaned into him, her eyes closing as peace rolled over her; of course she wouldn't hurt Connor. "Where have you been?"

"I didn't mean to worry anyone, I just went for a walk, then...got lost," she murmured, biting her lip. "There was a storm and I got pushed further into the woods than I've ever gone."

Connor nodded, kissing her forehead. "I'm just glad you came back..." he said, smiling gently. Kitty sighed, leaning into his strong arms, her eyes closed in bliss. The wedding in two days and the rest of their lives seemed to stretch out in front of them infinitely.

The two days leading up to the wedding passed in a blur and the morning of had Kitty in a fog until she was walking down the aisle with Achilles. Her eyes were on Connor and no one else; it was as though the world disappeared for a few brief moments and they were transported somewhere that was only the two of them. Kitty wondered briefly if only she felt that way, but one look at Connor's soft expression told her she wasn't.

"We are gathered here today to join these two in Holy Matrimony," the pastor Connor had hired from Boston said, smiling at the couple before him.

The ceremony continued, culminating to the point where Kitty and Connor exchanged rings. Kitty had never felt such a sense of elation as she did at the moment that Connor slid the solid gold wedding band onto her finger while whispering, "I do."

"I now pronounce you man and wife; you may kiss the bride," the pastor said, taking a step back. Connor swept Kitty into his arms and kissed her deeply, the kiss telling her what to expect during their wedding night after a year of abstinence.

They endured the reception afterward, both ready to go back to the manor and no longer be the obvious center of attention. Every once in a while, Connor would lean down and whisper things in Kitty's ear that would make her go a bright red just as someone would be walking up to congratulate them. Even though he insister on teasing her, Kitty knew she could never love anyone as much as she loved Connor right now at this moment. At midnight, the couple disappeared from the room without warning or explanation, unable to hold themselves back any longer.

Kitty woke up the next morning in Connor's arms and cuddled closer to him, letting out a small satisfied sigh. "Hmm...Kitty?" Connor asked sleepily, shifting.

"I'm here, Connor," she murmured back, kissing his cheek.

"I've missed sharing this bed with you," he murmured, pulling her closer to him.

Kitty giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Keep this up and we won't ever get out of bed."

"Mm...fine by me," Connor leaned down and kissed her deeply.

For a few short days, the pair only had each other to worry about; the worries of their world melted away as they became reaquainted with each other. Templars and Assassins didn't exist for a few days and neither did the ever rising revolution spurred on by the growing indifference of the British crown. No one came to take Connor away from Kitty for over a year and he never went away on his ship for more than a month at a time. During that time, she began to believe that they might have a chance at a normal life and that they could even have a family. It was ultimately the thought of family that kept her going through hard times.

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**Well? What do y'all think so far? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**This chapter is my favorite so far because...well...you'll see. And yes, it is a good deal shorter, but I really like the ending of it or I would continue into the next big issue that arrises in the storyline. Have fun dearies.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Chapter Four:

June 26, 1776

Kitty was in the kitchen of the manor, stirring a pot filled with berry preserves, a hand on her swollen belly; she was eight months pregnant and hadn't seen Connor since December. I'll be back in a month, he had promised, but now, seven months later, he was still gone. Kitty stretched, groaning softly as she rubbed her lower back. She looked up when Achilles walked in and smiled at him.

"Hello, old man. I've made you br-"

"Connor's been arrested," the old man said, not looking directly at Kitty, both his hands on the top of his cane, one crossed over the other. "And there are whispers of being sentenced to hanging.."

Kitty went pale and collapsed into one of the chairs, a hand on her belly. "What? But why?" she asked faintly, feeling as though her whole world was dissolving in front of her.

"I don't know, but the trial is tomorrow, I'll be gone for a few days."

"I'm going wi-"

"No, you aren't. Your husband would kill me if I let you travel so far as pregnant as you are, not to mention Doc White."

Kitty fought the urge to cry, holding her chin higher. "I'm going to go visiting; enjoy your trip," she whispered, walking out of the kitchen and out of the manor as fast as she could, encumbered as she was by her belly.

Tears blurred her vision as she walked automatically to Prudence and Warren's farm. Prudence saw her first and hurried over, hugging the hysterical younger woman, stroking her hair gently. "Hush, now, child. Tell me what's happened."

Kitty took a deep breath, trying to calm her teary hiccups. "C-Connor's been arrested and...and Achilles said th-there's talk about him being ha-hanged," she whimpered, drying her eyes on her apron. "He can't do this to me...to our baby..."

Prudence wrapped her in a hug. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, Kitty; Connor will get himself out of this and won't you feel foolish for crying like you are?"

Kitty smiled weakly at Prudence; the farmer's wife always knew what to say, but this time, Kitty knew the easiest thing to hear wasn't the best thing to expect. "You're right...I shouldn't worry," she murmured. Prudence smiled back and helped Kitty back to her feet. "Thank you, Prudence. How is Hunter?"

"Growing like a little weed," Prudence said, shaking her head. The pair talked until the sun was high in the sky before Kitty decided to go back up to the manor under the pretense of wanting to try to get some cleaning done.

In reality, once she got inside the big empty house, Kitty curled up in one of the chairs in the parlor and stared at the wall across from her, sniffling quietly. She had never felt so useless in her entire life; for the first time she felt like most women did their whole lives and it only pushed her further over the edge. It was the weight of the baby in her belly that kept Kitty from doing anything drastic, the slim hope that Connor would come hope that restrained her from going upstairs where she knew her blades were carefully tucked into a drawer. So, she just sat in the chair, unwilling to move for fear that it would make time move faster.

Just as the sun was going down, a man appeared at the door of the manor with a letter to Kitty. She smiled hollowly and gave the tired man a few coins and directions to the Mile's End before going back inside. The handwriting on the front was familiar, but Kitty couldn't place it as she unsealed it.

_Kitty,_

_I felt it only polite to write to you and inform you that your husband will be hanged tomorrow morning for the crime of treason. If you thought we didn't know where you disappeared to three years ago, you were dearly mistaken. As your husband's life is strangled out of him, know that your treachery against the Templars is what caused it._

_Sincerely,_

_Haytham Kenway_

Kitty felt her heart skip a beat as she sank to the floor, the letter fluttering to rest beside her. Her breath caught in her throat as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She doubled up over her belly and began to sob helplessly. It was like the dream she'd had in the woods the year before was coming true now. Sure she wasn't pulling the trigger, she wasn't even in the same city, but she was the cause of her husband's death all the same.

Her mind raced, trying to find some way this letter could just be her former guardian attempting to convince her to come back to them, but she knew in her heart that Haytham, while a manipulative man to say the least, would never write this letter unless it were true. The letter was only meant to cause Kitty pain in the most horrific way possible. She couldn't even save him this time, they already knew so much and she couldn't stop it.

A sudden pain streaked up her back and across her belly, causing her to yelp in pain. It felt like someone was trying to rip her in two. The pain subsided quickly and Kitty pushed herself to her feet, the sudden pain distracting her from the letter. She walked slowly into the kitchen and sat in one of the chairs, rubbing her belly, hoping that the pain was only the baby kicking a little too hard. It was when a second contraction had her doubled over again that she could no longer deny the truth: she was in labor. She took a deep breath when it was over and slowly stood and began walking back to the front of the house. She had just made it to the door when she doubled up with another contraction. She walked out of the house and waddled to the road, stopping beside the stone fence with the next contraction.

It seemed to take forever to get to the doctor's house and Kitty hardly noticed when her water broke. She knocked on Doc White's house and her knees gave out under her as the next contraction overcame her. She heard Doc White speaking to her, but it was as though it were through a fog or a heavy curtain that obscured everything he said and did. He helped her stand, led her to a birthing chair and instructed her to sit down. Kitty did as she was told and cried out when another contraction crashed over her.

"I can't," she whimpered when Doc White prompted her to push two hours later. "I can't have a baby without Connor. I need Connor."

"Now, Kitty, you can do this, I know you can. Connor will understand, don't worry," he murmured gently, patting her hand. "With the next contraction, I want you to push down and let's us meet this baby of yours."

Kitty nodded, pushing when the next contraction started. It took a few strong pushes before the baby boy was completely expelled from Kitty. She was crying and her sweaty hair was plastered to her face and neck when Doc White placed the wailing baby in her obliging arms. Suddenly, another contraction rolled through her and she pushed instinctively.

"Oh, dear, I think you may have been carrying twins," Doc White said, getting back in place at Kitty's feet. This baby was a girl and she was paler and quieter than her brother. Kitty held both her babies at her breasts and looked up at Doc White. "What are you going to name them?"

"I want to discuss it with Connor first..." she murmured faintly. "He didn't even know I was pregnant...he'll want to name them."

Doc White nodded and smiled. "You can stay here for the night and rest."

"No...no, I need to go home," Kitty murmured, standing slowly, her mind whirling. "I'll see you around..."

Kitty walked back to the manor and up to the room she shared with Connor. She put gowns and diapers on her babies and wrapped them each in a blanket and laid them on the bed next to her. She watched them sleep, sometimes holding a finger under their tiny noses to feel the whoosh of air as they breathed. She fell asleep and, for the first time in a year, she dreamed of the wolves. This time she didn't save Connor, she just watched him die, unable to move or speak. She woke up with her face still damp with tears and her babies wailing to be fed.

She fed them both, then went downstairs and ate her own breakfast, eating only enough to sate her grumbling stomach. She sat in the parlor, staring out a window, only stirring to feed her babies. Her husband had died that morning and it was her fault; she would have to raise these two babies alone and she wasn't sure if she could do that. The thoughts that had plagued her the day before returned, the nudges that reminded her of the blades so carefully kept sharp just above her. Why should she not end it now? At least the twins would have a chance outside of her womb; someone would hear their cries and come to investigate. There was no doubt in Kitty's mind that they would be well taken care of with her out of the picture, so much better than if she tried to raise them alone.

In the end, it was the babies' howling cries to be fed that roused her out of her dark thoughts and pushed her to continue living, if not only for her babies. Every time she fed the twins, she felt calmer, happier, if only for the few moments that they were at her breasts. These two, tiny, nameless creatures depended on her and it would be a disgrace to Connor's memory not to raise them the best way she could. She resolved herself against any thoughts of her blades and would force herself to think of her helpless children when thoughts of death dragged at her thoughts.

Days passed and Kitty knew that with all this time, there would be no good news. On the morning of July fifth, she heard the door open downstairs and felt her heart clench as a sob crept into her throat. She swallowed hard and walked down the stairs, shaking slightly from suppressed sobs, but determined that she would take the news with dignity. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes on her toes for a few moments before slowly looking up. She had expected to only see Achilles, but found, instead, that she was staring at a rather bedraggled and bruised Connor. She started to walk toward him and he held out his arms, but Kitty just slapped him hard across the face. He recoiled immediately, a hand on his cheek.

"I thought you were dead, Connor. Dead! You could have at least sent me a letter, you-" but her angry, tearful tirade was cut short when Connor pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

"I'm sorry I let you worry, Kitty," he murmured when he broke the kiss.

Kitty opened her mouth to retort that he would indeed be sorry when one of the babies started crying in the room above them. Connor frowned and looked up. "Sorry, they're probably hungry," she murmured, turning to walk back up the stairs automatically.

Connor grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him. "Who is they?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Your son and daughter," Kitty replied hotly, pulling her arm out of his grasp and going upstairs. She hardly noticed that Connor followed her until she sat on the edge of the bed, feeding both twins.

"You...you were pregnant when I left?" he asked quietly, crouching in front of her, his eyes searching her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"When you left, I didn't know yet," she replied, wrapping the little girl up once she finished suckling. Connor took the baby in his arms and stared down at her, his eyes full of wonder.

He swallowed hard. "Wh-what are their names?"

"I haven't named them yet. I hoped that the longer I postponed naming them...the...the more likely you were to come back," she whispered, her voice catching as tears began to crowd in her eyes.

Connor sat beside her, wrapping one arm around her and holding their daughter in the other. "I'm glad you waited," he whispered, kissing her temple.

Kitty smiled up at him, wrapping up the baby boy and readjusting the top of her dress. "Well, what do you want to name them?"

"I don't know...they should have white men's names, though; they will be accepted if they do."

"Ratonhnhakéton..."

"I've come to accept it, Kitty...it doesn't bother me as much as it used to. There has to be some names that you were considering when you were pregnant."

"Of course, but you were never here for me to ask if you liked them."

Connor chuckled, squeezing her gently with the arm he had around her. "Try now, then."

"I always like the name Edward for a boy," she murmured. It was true that she liked the name, but she really hoped Connor liked it to so they could do honor to his grandfather, the previous Assassin in the Kenway line. They had never discussed his family as the thought of his mother made him sad and his father made him mad.

"Edward is a good, strong name...perfect for any son of mine," he said, smiling down at the sleeping baby boy. Kitty sighed softly, smiling. "And a girl?"

"I had a friend as a child named Emeline...she got really sick one day and I never saw her again," she whispered, gently reaching out to stroke the girl's cheek.

"Then it is a beautiful name for our daughter."

Kitty leaned on Connor as they sat holding their babies and she felt that, for the first time in her life, she truly had a family worth boasting about. She could be proud to say she was Connor's wife and Edward's and Emeline's mother; all thoughts about the Templars and the Assassins, the Patriots and the Loyalists could be temporarily forgotten. How easy it would have been to believe they could live like this for the rest of their lives, just the four of them, a happy little family.

Kitty should have known that people like her never got the happy endings they so desperately hoped for.

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	6. Chapter 5

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**This chapter deals with some deep stuff and I want you to know that it will be okay. It is pretty short, but I liked the ending of it.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Chapter Five:

December 20, 1777

"If you leave, I won't be here when you get back and neither will Emmy and Eddie," Kitty growled, her arms crossed and her feet firmly planted as she faced off against Connor.

"You will not leave, Kitty. I have to go, General Washing-"

"_Oh_, how could I forget that if _George Washington_ calls, you go immediately. I need you here, Connor, and you are leaving me, again. When do you plan on being back this time? You've left before saying you'd be gone a month and didn't return for seven, after the birth of your children."

Connor's nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed as Kitty hit a sore spot. "That was-"

"'Out of your control,' yes, as you've told me a hundred times, but the line has begun to wear a little thin, don't you think? Sometimes I wonder if you even care about your children. It seems to me that _any_ excuse to get away from is is enough for you. You're no better than your father," Kitty spat. Connor pulled his hand back and slapped Kitty so hard she was knocked back into a wall, slumped forward.

Immediately, Connor rushed over to her. "Kitty, no...no, Kitty, I'm sorry, I didn-"

Kitty pushed him away, standing slowly, blood dripping from her nose and a red handprint standing out starkly against her porcelain skin. "Leave. Leave and don't you dare come back," she whispered, tears trembling in her eyes. "I hope I never see you again." With that, Kitty swept out of the kitchen and ran upstairs where the twins were taking a nap in their cribs. She heard the door below her slam and she let the tears start to fall.

She wasn't crying because she was in pain, no, pain was temporary; she cried because she fully realized for the first time that she wasn't first in Connor's mind, nowhere near it, in fact. She wept for what felt like hours, not even rousing when Emmy's and Eddie's cries joined her own. She had fooled herself for the past two years thinking she would ever mean enough to Connor to make him stay when she needed him. She ran a hand along her slightly swollen stomach, knowing that, this time, her child would never even meet its father.

Connor had chosen his course of action and Kitty wasn't going to stay at his side and pretend she was okay with him leaving her and coming back expecting a warm dinner and a willing bedmate; no, she wouldn't allow it anymore. Leaving him would be too easy, though and she didn't want her memory to be wiped from his mind because she wasn't there. Then, the perfect plan began forming in her mind.

She smirked, standing slowly and soothing her wailing babies, picking them up and carrying them into the parlor and sat them on a blanket. She sat with them on floor, watching them crawl around, giggling at each other. This is how she would continue living, as though nothing were wrong, but everytime Connor reached for her, whether they were alone or in public, she would wince. When he pulled her close in the dead of night and whispered in her ear, she would allow him to get what he wanted, but she wouldn't look at him. It would be difficult for Kitty as she was strongly opposed to such a passive aggressive approach to anything.

It would be so easy to start an argument every once in a while and concede by wincing away and whispering, "Please, don't hit me, again." She knew he loved her and that all these things would culminate very quickly once he realized what he had done. There was nothing he could do to fix it and he would have to live knowing that; if that wasn't perfect revenge, Kitty didn't know what was.

Then the pain began, so slight that, at first she didn't notice, then the blood that soaked her skirts. Surely he hadn't hit her that hard, not hard enough to make her miscarry. She pushed herself to her feet, fear coursing through her veins. She only walked a few steps before collapsing on the ground.

Achilles later told her that Emmy and Eddie began to wail frantically and when he came out to check on them, she was laying on her back, getting paler with every passing second. He had called immediately for Doc White and Warren. They moved her up to the bed upstairs and Doc White delivered the stillborn baby girl with Kitty only barely awake. She slept for three days after that, moaning, then screaming Connor's name, reaching out for him, but he never came and she would cry in her sleep. After she woke up, Kitty stayed in bed for days, just crying: for the loss of her baby and for the loss of love she felt for Connor.

When he returned after four months, Kitty was sitting in the grass in front of the manor with the twins. She looked up at him and felt her heart tighten; she hadn't stopped loving him and longed for the comfort of his arms, but she was truly afraid of him now. That he had hit her hard enough for her to lose the baby was enough to instill true fear, something she knew she wouldn't be able to hide. When he walked toward her, she cowered slightly automatically, raising a hand to protect herself and she saw in his eyes how much it hurt him to see her afraid of him. She felt shame for wanting to cause this pain simply for revenge and couldn't even look at him.

"Kitty...please," he whispered, kneeling at the edge of the blanket, his head bowed. "I should not have hit you...I should not have walked out on you."

She looked up at him, holding back tears. "I lost the baby," she whispered hoarsely. "And you weren't here when I needed you."

Connor's head snapped up. "I did not know...I did not know you were pregnant."

"If you had stayed, I was going to tell you that night," she whispered, her lip trembling as the tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I just wanted you to stay one more night, Connor...just one. It was a girl...a beautiful baby girl with black hair."

He swallowed and looked down at his hands. "I am sorry...please forgive me..." he whispered, gently taking her hands in his. "I love you."

"But not enough to stop leaving me," she whispered, shaking her head. "Connor, until you stop turning around to leave me all the time, I can't trust you. I love you, but I'm not the oblivious little girl that married you anymore."

"I cannot promise you that I will stop leaving, but it will all be over soon; please be patient," he murmured, reaching up and stroking her cheek.

"I have given up my life for you, my childhood, Connor, and my patience is wearing thin. At least promise you will give me a day's warning before you leave."

"I can do that."

Kitty smiled, leaning against him, sighing softly. This time Connor stayed home for a month, enough time for her to get pregnant again. She didn't know it when he left, but already another new life was filling her womb. A life that would change everything for the young couple.

"I won't be gone long, I promise," Connor murmured, hugging her close to him. "I'm just going to talk to Haytham, then I'll be back. A month at the longest."

Kitty nodded, smiling up at him. "Give him my love, would you?" she teased, kissing his cheek. Connor smiled shaking his head as he walked to his horse.

She watched him leave, then turned and went back inside to start cleaning up around the manor. She had a good feeling that he would be gone for a few months and wasn't too worried. Since he had come home, Connor had only lost his temper once with Kitty; she had left the manor before he woke up and didn't leave a note. Looking back, she knew if she hadn't taken the twins with her, he wouldn't have worried and been so angry. He was convinced she had been trying to leave him, that for all her promises and "I love yous," she had only said it to gain his trust. She had stood her ground and gotten a few finger shaped bruises on her wrist for her trouble. That night, Connor had apologized, kissing each bruise individually and Kitty had given him another chance.

After that, Connor simply walked away when he started to get mad which was better than hurting what little trust she still had for him. She knew how hard it was for him to see her still flinch when he raised his voice, but he really did deserve it and he at least seemed to realize that. She suspected that his swing toward the abusive was caused by the stress of being in close proximity with his father for most of the four months he was away.

He was only gone a few weeks this time, but when he came back, he looked even more angry than when he left. No, not angry, sad, betrayed and lost. Kitty was outside of the manor, weeding the small garden she had planted when he came riding up. He jumped off his horse and strode toward her, his expression stormy. She straightened immediately, ready to run if she thought his temper was too much for her to deal with.

"Ratonhnhakéton...what happened?" she asked gently, placing a hand on his forearm bracingly.

"I killed him, Kitty...I killed my best friend," he whispered, his voice breaking. She didn't have to ask who he was talking about, she knew.

She led him up to their room and hugged him close to her. "What happened?" she asked, rubbing his back as she would a small child.

"Lee told him...that I had turned against our people," he whispered, angry tears starting to roll down his cheeks. "I tried to tell him, Kitty...I did, but he wouldn't believe me."

"I know you did, Ratonhnhakéton, I know you did."

"Why am I always hurting the ones I love? Am I such a bad man?"

"Shh, no, you aren't...you had no choice with Kanen'tókon."

"Then why do I keep getting so angry at you? Why do I hit you? I don't want to, but...I just keep hurting you or getting angry enough that I might. I...can't control myself."

Kitty had no response, he had no excuse for losing her temper with her when all she wanted was for him to stay with her. Looking up at his face, she knew he knew there was no defending his actions against her and that was what weighed most heavily on him. She pulled him close to her and kissed him gently, telling him in the simplest way possible that she wouldn't stop loving him.

"I do not deserve you..." Connor murmured, laying beside her and playing with her hair.

"Mmm...no, no you do not," she whispered back teasingly, her head on his bare chest.

"I'll always love you, Kitty...you know that?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Of course, Ratonhnhakéton..."

He sighed softly, his eyes drifting closed. Kitty watched him sleep, the steady rise and fall of his broad chest soothing her. When he was asleep, she felt the most safe with him and thinking that made her feel bad. She did love him, more than life itself, but that didn't make trusting him any easier. Even in his sleep, he seemed troubled by all the problems of the world, the ones he could fix and the ones he couldn't. She reached up and gently smoothed the creases in his forehead, humming a lullaby she usually used to calm the twins.

When Kitty woke up the next morning, she immediately ran for the chamber pot, getting violently ill. She heard Connor sit up in the bed, then walk across to her. She held up a hand, retching again. When she finished and looked up, Connor was crouched next to her.

"Are you okay? Do I need to get Doc White?" he asked, concern etching his face.

Kitty laughed weakly. "I forgot you weren't here last time I went through morning sickness," she murmured, glancing up at him as she wiped off her mouth with a towel. Connor's brows drew down. "I'm pregnant, Connor."

He stood and took a step back, blinking. "R-really?" he asked, his surprise causing Kitty to laugh uncontrollably. "Did you know...last night?"

"I can't get pregnant twice, Connor," she teased, standing slowly. "Yes, I did know."

He swallowed and walked over to her, placing a hand on her still flat stomach. She had never seen him so awed as though the thought of a tiny life growing within her was foreign to him. "I will not leave..." he whispered, looking up at her, his eyes going steely. "I promise, this time."

Kitty smiled up at him, pulling him down to kiss her. "Thank you..."

A little less than eight months later, in February of 1779, Kitty gave birth to another baby boy, Alexander. Connor was by her side the whole time through the somewhat difficult birth, holding her hand and whispering encouragement in her ear when she started losing strength. When the newborn baby was placed in his arms, his face changed completely and he seemed at a loss for words. It was like watching him transform into a father right before her eyes.

"He's perfect..." he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Kitty. "Isn't he?"

"Absolutely perfect, Ratonhnhakéton," she murmured, smiling gently, propped up with pillows.

Seeing Connor smile down at their son, like he was, Kitty began to believe she could trust him the way she used to. This new baby and the two children they already had made her believe they might be able to be a real family. Though the Templars weren't completely wiped out yet, she had real hope that very soon it would all be over and Connor would never leave the homestead except to go into town.

Hope, as Kitty later realized, is about as helpful as cupping your hands to hold water to bring to a fire.

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	7. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**Umm...so...please enjoy this chapter...it's longer and you'll see why, but please don't hate me at the end, kay? Kay. Sorry, I took it down, then reposted it. If you want, read it again. This is mainly a service announcement that after this chapter, this story is completed.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Chapter Six:

August 18, 1781

The two years that followed, Kitty had a baby each year: a boy named Louis in May of 1780 and a girl named Dorothea in March of 1781. Connor was present at both births and she saw a change come over him as he helped raise his five children. He never lost his temper with her or their children and her fear of him abated; they had gone back to being the happy couple they had been when they got married and Kitty allowed herself to start to trust him again.

"How long will you be gone, Connor?" Kitty asked quietly, packing a bag of food for him.

"A week or two, Kitty, a month at the most," he murmured, kissing her temple as he took the bag. "I'll be back in plenty of time to get ready to greet our new child."

Kitty smiled, looking down at her small belly. "You better be," she murmured, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him gently. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," he swung up onto his horse and rode away.

Kitty watched him until he disappeared, sighing heavily and turning back to the manor. She walked into the parlor that doubled at Achilles' bedroom. "Do you want me to continue reading to you, Achilles?" she asked, smiling gently at him. Achilles waved a hand at the chair pulled up beside his bed. She sat down and picked up Gulliver's Travels, starting to read to him.

"Momma, Momma!" Emmy cried, running into the parlor.

"What is it, Emmy?" Kitty asked, turning to her daughter with a content smile.

"Eddy fell out of the tree! He won't wake up," Emmy wailed, tears filling her eyes. Kitty was on her feet immediately and running outside to the tree behind the manor.

Eddy lay at the foot of the tree, completely still. "Eddy," she whispered, kneeling beside him; his leg was at an odd angle and his face was pale. She scooped him up and carried him up to her room. "Diana! Go get Doctor White; Eddy broke his leg."

Eddy was starting to wake up. "Momma?" he whimpered, tears rolling down his cheek. "Momma, why does my leg hurt?"

"Do you remember falling out of the tree?" Eddy nodded, rubbing his eyes. "You hurt your leg when you fell. I need you to be really brave for me when Doc White gets here to fix it, okay?"

Eddy swallowed, nodding. Doc White arrived quickly and instructed Kitty to hold her son down while he and Diana set his leg. Kitty used her forearms to hold Eddy down and stroked his cheeks gently when he started screaming and crying. "Momma! Momma make 'em stop!" he sobbed. "Momma, it hu-urts!"

"I know, baby, I know. Shh, shh, it's almost over, sweetie," she murmured, kissing his forehead and wiping away the tears.

"I w-w-want D-Daddy!" Eddy wailed. "W-Where's Daddy?"

"Daddy had to go see a friend...I'm sorry, honey," Kitty whispered, stroking the tears from his cheeks.

"Okay, Kitty, we're done," Doc White murmured, a hand on her shoulder. Kitty nodded, straightening and turning to the doctor. "He will need to stay abed for a few weeks, but we got here fast enough that he'll make a full recovery. We're just going to give him some laudanum for the pain."

"Thank you, Dr. White," she whispered, pressing a few coins into his hand. She left Eddy asleep in the bed usually reserved for any guests that might need a place to stay for the night and went to get her other four children ready for bed. That night she slept wrapped around Eddy's body, soothing him when the pain woke him up. She fed him his breakfast in his bed and allowed Emmy into the room to sit with her twin once he was finished.

While Emmy and Eddy were occupied, Kitty went to check on the babies in the nursery Connor had built onto the house. "Ma, Ma, Ma!" Alexander said, standing in his crib with his hands held up to her.

She scooped the two year old up and kissed his cheek. "Good morning my little magpie," she sing-songed, laying him on the ground while she changed his diaper. Once that was done, she set him on a blanket with his toys. Dorothea was already whimpering to be fed so Kitty picked her up next and sat in the rocking chair to feed her. She had heard that women were the most stressed about their babies, but she found that when they were still young enough not to get into things, they were the easiest.

When Dorothea fell asleep after being fed, Kitty changed her diaper and laid the nearly six-month old in her crib and moved to Louis. It was strange that the one year old hadn't started crying while Kitty fed Dorothea and now the silence become deadly clear; Louis was laying in his crib perfectly still, his face and lips a cold looking blue.

"Louis...oh, Louis, no!" Kitty cried, picking up the lifeless body of her son. "Louis, sweetie, wake up...Momma's here, baby...Momma's here."

Her knees gave out beneath her and she fell to the ground, clutching her baby to her chest, murmuring over and over, "Momma's here, Momma's here." She never would have moved had Diana not come to check on Achilles and Eddy. She had gone into the nursery looking for Kitty to tell her that Eddy was doing better when she found the distraught mother.

The next month was lost to Kitty, she didn't even realize how much time had passed, so trapped was she in her own torment. Diana and Doc White later told her that for the two days before Louis's funeral she would go for hours just staring into space without saying a word, then suddenly she would be whispering, "Momma's here, Momma's here," over and over without seeming to take a breath and then go silent for a few moments before erupting into heartbreaking sobs, screaming Louis's name.

By far, the worst day was the poor babe's funeral. For the most part, Kitty was glad she couldn't remember it because, though she made it through the viewing with only a few tears, just as Terry and Norris were about to cover the coffin, she jumped into the open grave. "Don't make him stay in the dark!" she was later told she screamed, "He's scared of the dark!" It had taken the combined strength of Big Dave and Godfrey to get her out of the grave and then to hold her back as her son was buried.

After that, she would only rouse long enough to feed Dorothea and to eat a few bites herself. Diana stayed with her to make sure she didn't hurt herself or her children and she told Kitty that a few times she would go into the nursery and just hold a finger under Dorothea's or Alexander's nose for a few moments, then curl up on the ground and cry. Crying in the nursery was the only noise she made, no more outbursts crying out for her dead baby, just eerie silence. When Kitty pulled herself out of the depression, she thought only one day had passed because in her mind one dream had played itself over and over.

_It was the wolf dream again, but this time Connor killed Haytham, somehow knocking the pistol out of his hand and stabbing the older man with one of his blades. Kitty started to walk toward Connor when he turned to her. The anger in his eyes was enough to make her take a step back._

_"You killed my son. Why would you do that? Are you not a fit mother? Should I have chosen another to carry and raise my offspring?" he growled, advancing on her._

_Kitty backed into a tree, staring up at Connor. "I didn't kill Louis! I loved him! I try to be a good mother, a good wife to you. Please, Con-"_

_At this point he would slap her much like he had all those years ago and she would slide down the tree, watching as blood started to soak through her skirts. "Another waste of a life," Connor would growl, kicking her._

That none of what happened in the dream manifested itself in the waking world was a shock and a relief for Kitty as she had never confided in anyone, not even Prudence about Connor slapping her. The day she woke up, her hand had immediately gone to her belly as if checking that her baby was still there. Feeling a reassuring kick was enough to bring on a river of tears. Diana rushed into the parlor, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Kitty?" she asked, walking over to the younger woman. "Are you okay?"

"Is Connor home yet?" Kitty asked, standing.

Diana took a step back, obviously surprised at Kitty's lucid state. "He came back a few days ago, Kitty...he was only here long enough to bury Achilles...we told him you had gone to his village with the children."

"You lied to him?" Kitty asked, frowning.

"I thought you would want to be the one to tell him about little Louis."

Kitty nodded. "Tell me what has happened." Diana explained in detail all that had transpired since Kitty lost all sense of time and self-awareness. Once she finished, ending the story with Achilles funeral, Kitty told her she could leave. "I'll be fine here with the children."

Diana nodded and left the manor without another word. Kitty went upstairs to the room where Eddy was napping; his leg had healed significantly since she had last been aware and Diana had told her that he was able to walk around with a crutch now. Emmy was asleep beside Eddy, holding his hand tightly in hers. Kitty smiled softly as she leaned down and kissed both children's cheeks, then went to the nursery where Alexander and Dorothea were napping. Someone, probably Diana, had moved Louis's empty crib off to the side and covered it in a shroud. Kitty turned away from the crib immediately and instead picked up her sleeping Dorothea, sitting in her rocking chair while she held her baby.

"Momma's never gonna let anything happen to you, my sweet little Dot..." she murmured, kissing the baby's smooth forehead. "Momma's always gonna be here for you."

A few days after that, Kitty was sitting in the parlor with Alexander on his blanket, Dot in her lap and Emmy and Eddy reading quietly on the floor in a corner, Eddy's crutch leaning against a wall. When the door slammed open, Kitty stood, clutching Dot to her as she slowly walked toward the door. She only caught Connor's back as he disappeared down into the basement. She laid Dot on the blanket with Alexander and asked Emmy and Eddy to watch them.

"Connor?" she called as she walked down the stairs. "Connor, are you okay?"

He was standing in front of his target wall, his hands braced on the table and his head down. "I had to kill him, Kitty...I had to kill my father..." he whispered, his voice breaking.

"Let's go upstairs, Connor...you ne-"

"Don't you understand?" he roared, spinning around to face her. "I killed my father! Nothing you can do will fix that, Kitty."

Kitty let a half sob and covered her mouth as tears started rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't crying for Haytham, she was crying because she knew she had to make him feel even worse. "C-Connor...I..."

He walked over to her and pulled her close to him. "I know you were close to him, too, Kitty, but-"

"No, Connor...it isn't Haytham...it...it's Louis."

"Louis? What hap-...no...no, Kitty...please."

"Eddy broke his leg...I stayed with him and...the next morning..." Connor slid to his knees, pulling Kitty with him.

"When?" he asked brokenly.

"The day after you left for Chesapeake..."

"I came back a week ago, why didn't they tell me? Where were you?"

Kitty pressed her lips together. "I...wasn't in my right mind and they thought it might be easier to hear it from me," she murmured, leaning against Connor.

"What happened Kitty? Why couldn't you talk to me?"

"I-I don't know...I just stopped...doing anything for a month..." she murmured, leaning against Connor.

Connor wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you when you needed me...this will be the last time I leave you behind. Lee is the only one left and then we'll be free."

Kitty nodded, her sobs turning into shuddering hiccups. "Please come back to me, Connor...I don't know what I'd do without you..."

"I will come back," he whispered, kissing her forehead as he slowly stood. "I love you, Kitty."

"I love you, too."

Kitty followed him up the stairs, then watched him ride away. This would be the last time he rode away and she felt a sense of foreboding as she watched him. "Please come back, Connor..."

With that, she turned and walked back inside, unaware of all that would transpire over the next few days. All she knew was that she and Connor were so close to getting to be a normal family for the first time since they got married and that was enough to keep her going. Her surviving children would finally get to have a father that was always there for them and not having to run off every month or so.

"Momma, where did Daddy go?" Emmy asked when Kitty walked back into the parlor.

"Daddy went to go finish some business, Emmy, but he'll be home soon," Kitty said, smiling as she sat on the floor with her children and carefully picked up a sleeping Dot.

"Does that mean he won't leave all the time?" Eddy asked quietly, picking at his sleeves.

"I think so, Eddy."

Eddy and Emmy grinned at each other and Emmy helped Eddy stand up. They walked out of the parlor and Kitty heard them going upstairs. She smiled and shook her head, turning her attention to Alexander who was standing up and toddling across the parlor. Watching him walk reminded her of the day he took his first steps.

_Connor was sitting in the parlor with Achilles, talking about how the homestead had grown and half watching his son playing on the ground. Kitty walked in, two months away from giving birth to Louis, her hands on her hips. Connor and Achilles both looked up, a sense that they were both in trouble coming over the men._

_"Connor, are you even watching your son?" she asked, pointing at the fourteen-month old who had pulled himself up using a bookshelf. The curly-haired tike looked at his parents and his violet eyes locked on Connor._

_"Dada," he cooed, taking a careful step forward. He stopped for a second, then took another step and another until he was at Connor's feet, his hands reaching up to him. "Dada. Up?"_

_Connor grinned, scooping his son up. "What a brilliant little boy, you are!" he exclaimed, holding the baby above his head._

_Kitty laughed. "You would think children didn't start walking every day," she teased, walking over to her husband._

_He just smiled at his son. "You are going to be very smart like your mother. And I will never get any rest if there are anymore little girls," he cooed, his eyes laughing at Kitty._

It was harder to remember Louis's first steps as the memory brought with it a feeling of heartbreak that Kitty wasn't sure she was ready to face. "Come back to Momma, Alex," she called to the two year old. He giggled and toddled back over, giving Kitty a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"I w-wove you," he cooed, smiling up at her.

"I love you, too, Alex," she murmured, kissing him on the forehead.

Alex seemed satisfied with this response and went back to playing with his ball. Emmy walked back downstairs and into the parlor.

"Momma?" she asked, her hands behind her back.

"Don't tell me Eddy hurt himself again," Kitty sighed, standing with Dot on her hip.

Emmy giggled and shook her head. "No. Is there a baby in your tummy?" she asked, her brows drawn down slightly. Kitty nodded, a hand going to the somewhat large swell. "Is the baby gonna replace Louis?"

Kitty's breath caught in her throat. "No, of course not, Emmy. What gave you that idea?" Emmy looked down and shrugged. "None of my children are replaceable."

Kitty hugged her daughter and smiled gently. "I love you, Momma," the girl murmured, kissing her mother's cheek before going back Kitty watched her go, a hand absently rubbing her belly.

Three days passed and when Connor came limping back into the manor, he refused help from his wife until he had marked off Lee's picture on his target wall. He spent a few days unable to even get out of bed, so extensive were his injuries, and so he slept. It was the first time since he was thirteen that the threat of the Templar Order not hanging over his head and she was grateful that he could finally relax after so many years.

"Kitty," she heard him whisper one day when she was in the room, rocking a sleeping Dot.

She looked up and smiled before standing and going to sit on the edge of the bed. "Yes, Connor?"

"How are you feeling?" he asked, a hand going to her stomach.

"A lot bigger than the last three times," she laughed. It was true, she was bigger than she had been at the same time in her pregnancies with Alex, Louis and Dot, maybe even bigger than when she had been pregnant with the twins.

He chuckled, his eyes going to Dot. "Is Dorothea okay?"

"Strong and healthy. Don't worry, Connor," she murmured, leaning down and kissing him gently. "What about you? You've been sleeping for a few days."

"I feel better now, much better."

She smiled, standing slowly. "I'm glad."

The last day of 1881 proved to be a pivotal point for the family. It was a Saturday, fitting to end the year at the end of the week and the most of the day went as usual. After dinner, Connor went to the Mile's End to speak with Oliver leaving Kitty with the children. She was sitting in the parlor as the sun went down, reading one of Achilles' many books when she felt a sudden pain shoot along her back and across her belly.

It was gone in seconds and she chose to ignore it, convincing herself it was her imagination. When a second pain ripped through her, she stood and put the book away, moving through the pain as she picked up both Alex and Dot with Emmy and Eddy followed her into the nursery. She put the babies to bed, then tucked in the twins, pretending she didn't feel the contractions weren't happening because she was more than a month away from when the baby should be born.

Once her children were tucked in, she started to go upstairs, but her body would no longer be ignored as another contraction brought her to her knees. Her water broke and panic started to set in as she tried to crawl up the stairs to her room. Contractions were already coming hard and fast and Kitty began to feel light-headed, her movements slow and sluggish. Distantly she heard the door open and someone running toward her.

"Kitty! Kitty, what's wrong? Why is there blood? Kitty? Kitty!" Connor exclaimed, picking her up as though she were no heavier than a child.

"Something's wrong, Connor...we need Doctor White..." she whispered before passing out.

*Connor*

"Kitty? Kitty, wake up," Connor whispered, clenching his jaw. He shook his head and turned to the still open door. He ran to Lyle's house, his mind screaming to get Kitty to the doctor as fast as he could, ignoring everything else. "Lyle! Lyle, it's Kitty, something's wrong!"

The door opened and Doctor White let Connor in, instructing him to lay Kitty on the bed. "Go wait, outside, Connor. You'll only get in the way."

Connor nodded stiffly, walking outside and pacing back and forth in the yard, his mind racing. What could have possibly happened? Why had Kitty gone into labor so early? Why was there so much blood staining her skirts? He knew he could have answered the last question, but the answer wasn't one he wanted to consider.

It was nearly four hours when Lyle walked out of his clinic holding two blanket-wrapped bundles. "Congratulations, Connor, you have a new son and daughter," he said warily.

"Is Kitty okay?" Connor asked, his heart plummeting.

"Connor..."

"No...no, please, I can't lose her...not now..." he whispered hoarsely, his knees giving way beneath him. "She can't be...she can't be gone."

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**Well? What do y'all think? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**

**Suveri: I'm glad that I'm helping you through a stressful time! I hope it gets better, sweetie. And I hope you enjoyed Kitty's most stressful period. -sweatdrop-**

**ropertfree72: I'm glad you are enjoying my story! Keep reading!**

**Shout out to the people who favorited after the last chapter:**

**Suveri, Cereza ShatterField, mrnoobishdude123**

**And my beautiful new followers:**

**Cereza ShatterField, mrnoobishdude123, Lupa94**

**You are all so, so amazing and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.**


	8. Ending Choice One

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**So...I lied...don't hate me!**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Ending One:

January 1, 1882

In a fog, Connor followed Doc White into his home and stared at the form under a sheet on the bed. He felt himself collapse beside the bed and take Kitty's cold, limp hand in his. He knew tears were rolling down his cheeks, but he couldn't stop them. He pressed her hand against his cheek, wishing with all his might that she would start stroking his cheek soothingly, the way she did when she thought he was asleep and having a bad dream.

"Don't leave me alone...please, Kitty...don't leave me alone, again," he whispered, pressing a kiss against her wrist. "I need you...here...with me and...and our children..."

The hand he held twitched and, at first, Connor thought he was imagining it, but then the hand pulled away from him. He watched as it pulled the sheet off Kitty's face, her violet eyes blinking at the bright light.

"C-Connor?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"I'm right here," he replied quickly, standing.

"The baby?" she asked softly, looking up at Connor.

"Babies, they're here," he murmured, turning to Doc White, who's shock would be almost comical if Connor wasn't so worried it was all in his head, and taking both babies in his arms. "A boy and a girl."

Kitty smiled weakly, sitting up slowly. "Be careful, Kitty," Doc White murmured, stepping forward to help her and set up some pillows behind her back.

Connor gently laid the baby girl in Kitty's arms and watched her face as she smiled down at the raven-haired child. "What do you want to name them?"

Kitty smiled, stroking her daughter's cheek. "Theodosia and...Thaddeus...like we talked about before you left," she murmured. "They're perfect names..."

"That they are, Kitty..." he whispered, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "When can I take her home, Doctor White?"

"She needs to rest before she is moved...I'm afraid her condition is more fragile than we can see. Perhaps in a week's time, we will see how she is faring."

Kitty seemed to grow stronger with every passing hour during that week and Connor had great confidence that she would come home at the end of the prescribed week. It made him glow with pride to watch his wife hold their newest additions and he knew where he was supposed to be for the rest of his life; standing beside Kitty, his young, beautiful, vibrant wife, the woman who had carried eight of his children and would help him raise the six who remained.

There were no more children after that, but Kitty and Connor were happy with what they had. Connor lived to be eighty-seven and died quietly in his sleep one winter night and Kitty hung on for ten days after that. Each day, in her mind, was representative of the years before she met Connor. The ground had been too frozen to dig a grave for Connor alone so they were buried together, holding hands even in death. It was hard on those that knew them to lose them both within the same month, but it was fitting to know they would be together even after death. Below their names the words The Assassin King and Queen had been carefully chiseled by Edward.

Their legacy lived on through their children and their children's children and their children's children's children eventually leading to Desmond Miles, the man who was meant to truly save humanity.

Right, so who believes that shitte? No one? Good, it was just fluff to make you feel better. Now, if you want the real story, continue on to the next chapter; if you are satisfied with this piece of crap "Happily Ever After," don't read on or it's all over for you.

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**Well? What do y'all think? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**

**You are all so, so amazing and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.**


	9. Ending Choice Two

**Thank you to everyone that favorited/followed this story or favorited me! And thank you if you reviewed!**

**So...I lied...don't hate me! If you like this ending enough, I will continue with the sequel, _Assassin Queen_. If you don't like it...well...I'm still gonna write the sequel, so have fun with that.**

**A/N: I do not own anything except my OCs.**

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Ending One:

January 4, 1782

The ground had been frozen and unyielding, but Connor's determination had made digging his wife's grave possible. With every shovelful of dirt, his mind flashed back to that night when he had been led into the room where his dead wife lay on a bed, her blood still staining the sheets, her skin ashen, her lips blue, but her eyes were closed as though in sleep. Assimilating this lifeless shell with the vivacious woman he had married was impossible and caused his heart to ache.

"Open your eyes and tell me I'm being a fool...please," he had whispered as tears slipped down his cheeks. All he wanted was to hear her voice, see her beautiful eyes, just one more time. She couldn't really be gone, there had been no signs that this pregnancy was any different from the others. He had named the twins Theodosia and Thaddeus, the names the couple had discussed one night before he left to kill his father and Charles Lee, but he wished he could have spoken to her first. He jumped out of the grave and looked down into the yawning hole, tears threatening once again.

"Daddy?" Emmy's sweet voice called from up the hill.

"Yes, Emmeline?" Connor murmured, turning to his daughter and smiling weakly.

"Don't be sad, Daddy...Mama said she'll always watch out for us," the five year old murmured, walking carefully over to him.

"She said that, did she?" he asked, trying to hide the break in his voice as he picked his daughter up. "When did she tell you that?"

"Last night when she tucked us in," Emmy said, laying her head on Connor's shoulder.

He froze and looked down at Emmy. "Are you sure Mama tucked you in last night?"

"Uh-huh, she always tucks us in and sings to us at night."

The pain was back in Connor's heart, but he just smiled at Emmy and kissed her plump cheek. She grinned up at him as he carried her back up to the manor. The children were staying at the manor with Diana during the service in the church. The service itself had been a fight because Connor wanted to bury his wife peacefully without the others around, but Doc White and Father Timothy had been adamant that it would have been what Kitty would want. It was truly a beautiful ceremony and when they all marched to the grave, bearing the weight of the coffin, Connor couldn't help but think it was too heavy to contain his wife.

Kitty watched from afar as her coffin was lowered into the earth and sighed softly as she pulled her hood up to cover her shortened hair and made her way to the harbor where a small boat waited to take her to a larger ship that waited for her just out of sight. She was on her way to England to recruit new members for the Colonial guild. Even now, she couldn't understand why she couldn't tell Connor, why she had to let him believe she had died giving birth to his children, but she would do anything to further the Assassin cause.

It had been a surprising offer when she received the letter more than a year ago and she had kept it pushed to the back of her mind, telling herself there would never be an opportunity to sneak away without Connor knowing. When the opportunity had presented itself, she had taken it. She hated herself for doing this to the only man that had ever loved her unconditionally. Doc White had given her some herb that made her appear dead, something he had called the Sleeping Death. It had worked and they had filled the coffin with rocks that about equated her weight.

What she regretted most was that she had been able to hear Connor's fervent whispers for her to be awake, his subdued sobs. All she had wanted to do was sit up and take him in her arms and tell him everything would be alright. He would never be able to trust her again when she came back and that is what hurt the most.

One day she would return to Connor and hope he took her back in and that he hadn't found another to warm his bed. Father Timothy and Doc White were tasked with keeping women away, but they couldn't be expected to know everything he did. As her ship sailed away, she chanced one last glance back at the place she would always call home.

"I'll come home to you one day, Connor...I promise," she whispered to herself before turning to face the sun and her future on another shore.

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**Well? What do y'all think? Please R&amp;R...it makes me happy to see what y'all think.**

**You are all so, so amazing and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come.**


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